79 Hours to Saigon

00:00 We leave Redmond at 3:00am to head to SeaTac. After being lectured about having a different name on my plane tickets then I have on my passport (thanks Mom and Dad), United finally gets it fixed and we fly to San Fran.

08:00 We are asleep in the terminal of the San Francisco airport.

10:00 On the plane to Hong Kong!

22:00 Still on the plane to Hong Kong...

30:00 Our third flight, from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). arrives at last.

31:00 There is some confusion with immigration; it seems that you need to procure a visa before arriving in Vietnam.

32:00 We are escorted by guards to a room labeled "Deportees."



35:00 Sleep is intermittent at best.

40:00 We board a flight back to Hong Kong ($800 down the tubes for three round trip tickets)

47:00 We find the Vietnamese consulate in Hong Kong, and fill out the forms to apply for a visa.

47:08 Our visas are ready.

47:15 Rice and a fried egg, the first food I have eaten that was not provided by United Airlines.



49:00 I catch Mitch updating his facebook status to "I feel like I am traveling with the Gooftroop."

52:00 We check into the "Safari Guesthouse" in the Chungking Mansions. Population density of Hong Kong: 100,000 per square kilometer. I think they were all in our building.

53:00 At 6pm local time, we are all asleep.

63:00 At 4am local time, we are all awake.

66:00 Macaroni and ham soup for breakfast.

68:00 A walk in the park. We are approached by enthusiastic birdwatchers, and briefly join their ranks. Mitch works it.



73:00 Wait, where are we?

79:00 We get off the plane in Saigon, and ease our way through immigration. At least I can finally cross "Get deported from a foreign country" off of my list of lifetime goals!

Hope you are all having a less expensive, less stressful, but probably less adventurous time at home. We love you!